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In 1975,Gourmet magazine published a series on traditional Japanese food —the first of its kind in a major American food magazine — written by a graduate of the prestigious Yanagihara School of classical cuisine in Tokyo. Today, the author of that groundbreaking series, Elizabeth Andoh, is recognized as the leading English-language authority on the subject. She shares her knowledge and passion for the food culture of Japan in WASHOKU, an authoritative, deeply personal tribute to one of the world's most distinctive culinary traditions. Andoh begins by setting forth the ethos of washoku (traditional Japanese food), exploring its nuanced approach to balancing flavor, applying technique, and considering aesthetics hand-in-hand with nutrition. With detailed descriptions of ingredients complemented by stunning full-color photography, the book's comprehensive chapter on the Japanese pantry is practically a book unto itself. The recipes for soups, rice dishes and noodles, meat and poultry, seafood, and desserts are models of clarity and precision, and the rich cultural context and practical notes that Andoh provides help readers master the rhythm and flow of the washoku kitchen. Much more than just a collection of recipes, WASHOKU is a journey through a cuisine that is rich in history and as handsome as it is healthful. Awards2006 IACP Award WinnerReviews“This extensive volume is clearly intended for the cook serious about Japanese food.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune“. . . scholarly, yet inspirational . . . a foodie might just sit back and read for sheer enjoyment and edification.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If the food of a culture has a pulse, in Japan that pulse would be called washoku. It's a set of principles in fives that takes into account color, taste, ways of preparing food, the diner's senses, and the outlook brought to bear on both the cooking and the dining experience. The result? Meals that are balanced, pleasing, invigorating, healing, and satisfying--all in ways that seep deep into the soul. It's the great good luck of the West that Elizabeth Andoh chose a life in Japan and a focus on food. Her expertise has brought forth the award-winning An Ocean of Flavor as well as countless newspaper and magazine pieces.

With Washoku Andoh takes the reader into the heart of the Japanese home kitchen. She explains the guiding philosophy then brings it into practical terms with a section on the essential washoku pantry. Her section on the washoku kitchen begins with cutting and ends with shaping and molding. Recipes are found in chapters on Stocks and Condiments; Soups; Rice; Noodles; Vegetables; Fish, Meat and Poultry; Tofu and Eggs; and Desserts.

You might never prepare an entire Japanese meal from beginning to end (though with this book in hand you certainly could), but there's no reason not to believe you wouldn't begin to include some of these recipes in an expanding foodway. The sauces and condiments are particularly exciting. As is the underlying thinking that goes into how you are cooking and why you are cooking--the washoku of it all. Not a bad lesson to learn from an exemplary teacher. --Schuyler Ingle

From the Publisher

* A full-color cookbook featuring more than 140 recipes for the classics of the Japanese home kitchen, written by the leading English-language authority on the cuisine, Elizabeth Andoh, Gourmet magazine s correspondent in Japan.

* The essentials of the Japanese pantry  the array of herbs and spices, the numerous varieties of miso, tofu, and noodles  are illustrated in full-color photographs.

* Andohs An Ocean of Flavor won the IACP cookbook award for Seafood, Meat, and Poultry in 1998.

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There's something about Japanese food that has piqued my interest. It might be that every sample I've tasted has been delicious and uncomplicated, very fresh and well-presented. Perhaps it's because as I get older, I'm increasingly less impressed by spectacular culinary feats and more and more am drawn to the homemade, the elemental, the simply prepared. We in the west tend to like our food to be exciting beyond reason (hence the wild west's iconic sagging gunbelt) but I have come to believe that the true craving that drives us to excess is for what this book contains - recipes for nourishing, satisfying, thoroughly considered meals that allow us to eat to a functional (minimal) satiation point but not beyond, which is at the heart of another longtime Japanese tradition: hara hachi bu. This and it's companion by the same author, Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan And Vegetarian Traditions, are well worth reading and trying, and certainly worth considering as it applies to one's own lifestyle, since we all wish for a long, healthy, happy life. I wish you luck in your quest for one. :)

A sensitive book that taught me a lot in relatively few pages. The photos were beautiful and high quality, and the recipes are dependable. Ms. Andoh does a great job of breaking down the vocabulary and grammar of traditional Japanese cooking. I should emphasize that you will not see recipes like fried rice, shrimp tempura, or even teriyaki, which I know are American favorites, though reading through this book should more than give you the skills to prepare them. Through this book I came to the realization that I did not truly know what Japanese food was, in spite of having frequented Japanese restaurants all my life.

Don't get me wrong, many flavors and textures should seem familiar to the palate of an American fan of Japanese restaurant food. Japanese food was a stranger at a party whom I had bumped into from time to time without ever being formally introduced. I know what it looked like, and some basic, obvious things about its personality. But now, thanks to this book, I feel that we are intimate friends. And there are many exciting things about it that I discovered for the first time.

It's also important to note that, even in Japan, there are many different Japanese styles of food. Washoku is merely the foundational style found in traditional households. It also seems to be the underlying philosophy behing the sets of instincts Japanese cooks across Japan tend to have, with regional variation.

This book contains a wealth of information and authentic recipes from an American born woman who has spent most of her life in Japan. What I love about all of Elizabeth Andoh's books is that she teaches you not just how to do something but also why you do it that way. She is a gifted teacher and excellent writer. The recipes in this book has been tried and tested, so they work. Highly recommended!

I was absolutely delighted to come across this cookbook! It's the first one I've found in English that tells you how to cook Japanese curry from scratch. All of the others I've found tell me to buy a package of Japanese curry roux. And her instructions work!

I've read the negative reviews as well as the raves, and my reading of the reviews of people unhappy with this book is that they aren't yet familiar with cooking home-style Japanese food and don't have access to the ingredients. If you are looking for a basic first Japanese cookbook, try one of the many books loaded with photos and directions for dishes that can be prepared with ingredients found in most Western supermarkets. You'll be much happier.

But if you want to know how to use various kinds of miso and get detailed instructions on how to prepare a dish, this is definitely the cookbook for you!

I guess I give it four stars instead of five because it's rather like one of Julia Child's books in which you have to shift back and forth between various parts of the book. You definitely have to read about all the ingredients and methods before you prepare to cook. And even living in Honolulu there are many ingredients I can't obtain here. There are recipes missing so that I can't toss out my other cookbooks, but teriyaki salmon is not one of them -- that's to me a typical dish in Japanese restaurants in Honolulu, not Japan. And I admit I'd like more photos and diagrams, but that's wishing for the moon. This is a great cookbook and completely different from any other I've ever found in English. Amazon's price is great too!

Great book to get started with Japanese cooking. I love all the pictures and cultural details. There's a lot of recipes that are built off of things that are covered earlier in the book as well, which I think is really cool. There are a lot of recipes in here that I am excited to try out, and they all seem like something that I can do. There are some ingredients that may be hard to find depending on where you live, so just keep that in mind.